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Outer Space

Research conducted by: RAND Justice, Infrastructure, and Environment

Commentary (9)

Kill the Space Launch System to Save Human Spaceflight — Apr 1, 2013

Even in the face of a budgetary spending cap and the ever-looming possibility of new cuts, NASA continues investing in a robust and diverse human spaceflight program. But with fiscal uncertainty expected to continue, it should consider reordering its spending priorities.

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Satellite Collision Is a Reminder of Challenges Posed by Space Debris — Mar 15, 2013

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The Effects of Celestial Events Go Beyond Their Impact — Feb 20, 2013

While the event in Russia was caused by a medium-sized (10,000-ton) meteor, larger objects, like the asteroid 2012 DA14 that also passed near Earth last week, have the potential to be significantly more damaging, write Dave Baiocchi and William Welser.

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Intelsat Crash a Setback for Space Lift Competition — Feb 12, 2013

Sea Launch's recent failure means more than just a lost payload and revenue for Intelsat: It means the status quo for launch services will continue for a while longer, write Dave Baiocchi and William Welser.

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Space: The Final Junkyard? — Apr 2, 2009

Celestial real estate is increasingly popular. All in all more than 900 satellites, along with tens of thousands of bits of man-made space detritus, jockey for elbow room overhead. The result: a growing threat our atmosphere will soon become so crowded with floating junk as to become almost unusable, write Caroline Reilly and Peter D. Zimmerman.

Let's Avoid Another Trans-Atlantic Feud — Jan 13, 2006

Published commentary by RAND staff: Let's Avoid Another Trans-Atlantic Feud, in International Herald Tribune.

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A Future for U.S.-China Space Cooperation? — Dec 13, 2004

Published commentary by RAND staff

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Atlantic Monthly and RAND View the Future — Aug 1, 2003

The Atlantic Monthly Magazine features a compilation of ten short essays written by experts at RAND, collectively titled Headlines Over the Horizon. The RAND authors examined developments in international and military affairs drawing little attention today that are expected to be major issues in the next three to five years.